Fired Mexico Beach code enforcement officer wants his job back

Don Freigo, former code enforcement officer for Mexico Beach, speaks about the events surrounding his termination during an interview earlier this week.

Heather Leiphart / The News Herald

By Chris Olwell / The News Herald

Published: Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 04:51 PM.

MEXICO
BEACH
— During a special meeting of the
Mexico
Beach
City
Council last week, Councilman Jack Mullin suggested that the goal of disciplining city employees who need discipline should be rehabilitation.

The council had convened to discuss inflammatory posts on a Facebook page run by City Administrator Chris Hubbard, and it voted 3-2 in favor of adding a letter of reprimand to Hubbard’s file. But before the vote, the council opened up the meeting for comment from the citizens in attendance, and Don Freigo jumped at the chance to speak.

“I can be rehabilitated, and I’d like my job back,” Freigo said.

Until recently, Freigo was a code enforcement officer for the city. Hubbard fired him Oct. 4 after an altercation with a citizen at City Hall.

On Oct. 3, Freigo was working and he spotted a political sign that he considered rare — a
Mexico
Beach
citizen supporting Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Freigo said he commented to the resident that he thought it was only such sign he’d seen in
Mexico
Beach
.

The resident’s significant other showed up at City Hall a little while later to confront Freigo about the comment, and a shouting match ensued. According to a written report on the incident that was in Freigo’s file, Freigo and the resident were toe-to-toe in the lobby shouting when the resident cussed Freigo and invited him outside.

MEXICOBEACH — During a special meeting of the MexicoBeachCity Council last week, Councilman Jack Mullin suggested that the goal of disciplining city employees who need discipline should be rehabilitation.

The council had convened to discuss inflammatory posts on a Facebook page run by City Administrator Chris Hubbard, and it voted 3-2 in favor of adding a letter of reprimand to Hubbard’s file. But before the vote, the council opened up the meeting for comment from the citizens in attendance, and Don Freigo jumped at the chance to speak.

“I can be rehabilitated, and I’d like my job back,” Freigo said.

Until recently, Freigo was a code enforcement officer for the city. Hubbard fired him Oct. 4 after an altercation with a citizen at City Hall.

On Oct. 3, Freigo was working and he spotted a political sign that he considered rare — a MexicoBeach citizen supporting Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Freigo said he commented to the resident that he thought it was only such sign he’d seen in MexicoBeach.

The resident’s significant other showed up at City Hall a little while later to confront Freigo about the comment, and a shouting match ensued. According to a written report on the incident that was in Freigo’s file, Freigo and the resident were toe-to-toe in the lobby shouting when the resident cussed Freigo and invited him outside.

“I’m not going to be f-bombed,” Freigo explained.

There were several city employees who witnessed the dispute, and several wrote reports indicating they believed the confrontation had all the potential to turn physical.

A police captain witnessed the scene and intervened. He separated the two men and went outside with both of them to calm them down. The resident was calm by the time Freigo drove away, he reported.

Freigo, a former police officer, said he was only trying to get the resident outside and de-escalate the situation. He was fired the next morning.

City policy prohibits “fighting or malicious behavior while on city property.” Any employee who violates the policy is subject to “disciplinary action up to and including termination.”

Freigo said there appears to be a double standard when it comes employee discipline. While he was fired, Hubbard was merely reprimanded for the Facebook page, which Mayor Al Cathey said cast the city in a bad light.

“I was never written up and given anything to sign. I was never given a suspension. I was just terminated,” Freigo said. “I can curtail my anger.”

Hubbard said Freigo is a generally pleasant guy to work with, but if you disagree with him or challenge him he can be confrontational. Freigo admitted he can be confrontational. Hubbard said he’s talked to Freigo in the past about aggression toward residents.

Freigo has not been offered rehabilitation. The city has a grievance board he could appeal, but he’s not optimistic about his chances of success, he said.